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UFC 132 Preview Predictions: Why George Sotiropoulos Is the Safest Bet to Win

With all the drama and excitement that surrounded UFC On Versus 4 this past week, MMA fans barely have a chance to catch their breath before Dominick Cruz defends his UFC Bantamweight title against Urijah Faber at UFC 132 this Saturday night.The fight …

The fight card presents numerous betting opportunities with five of the fights on the card handicapped at near even odds. Even the main event between Cruz and Faber has the champion as a slight favorite at minus-135.

But despite all the great prices on the competitive fights, as an MMA bettor, I’m always looking for at least one fight to bet on that is a safe-money option. And in my opinion, the best safe-money action on this card is on George Sotiropoulos to beat Rafael dos Anjos.

A bet on Sotiropoulos will not come all that cheap, the best price you can find on him currently sits at minus-240. But if you compare some of the other fights on the card that’s a decent price on a fighter who should have no trouble with the opponent he’s about to face.

What about Bader over Tito, you ask?

Yes, everyone knows that Ryan Bader is going to beat Tito Ortiz Saturday night, but the cheapest price on Darth Bader is a hefty minus-483. It’s not worth putting up $483 to win $100, even against Tito.

I think the chance of Sotiropoulos out-striking Dos Anjos is very strong, and he should be able to negate the jiu-jitsu skills of Dos Anjos if the fight ever goes to the mat.

Sotiropoulos may not beat Dos Anjos in a grappling match, but he should have enough ground game to stay out of trouble until they stand up again.

Let’s not forget that Sotiropoulos was ripping up the Lightweight division before he ran into the striking skills and take-down defense of Dennis Siver. Dos Anjos will not pose the standing threat that Siver did, and that will make all the difference in this fight.

Dos Anjos has dropped three of his six UFC fights and is coming off a tough loss to Clay Guida.

He’s had trouble against skilled strikers who are able to keep the fight standing, and it’s safe to say that if I know that, Sotiropoulos will climb into the Octagon with that in mind.

This fight has unanimous decision win for Sotiropoulos written all over it, as he looks to climb back into the elite of the division. Despite the setback to Siver, Sotiropoulos is still one of the best at 155 and will remind the world of that this Saturday night.

And as my safe-money bet, if he doesn’t remind the world of that, it’s going to be a long night for me.

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UFC on Versus 4 Results: Why Matt Mitrione Should Fight Cheick Kongo Next

I have to admit that when I heard Nate Marquardt was out of the main event against Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4, I didn’t think the replacement headliner between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry would do the card justice.Boy was I wrong.Instead the ma…

Boy was I wrong.

Instead the main event will go down as a classic example of how not to rush in too fast when you think you have your opponent in trouble, and we’ll be watching the end of that fight on highlight reels for decades to come.

Kongo’s amazing KO while still on rubbery legs will not only retain a spot for him on the UFC roster, it should also be enough to earn him another co-main event fight, likely against a well known up-and-comer.

The other Heavyweight fight on the UFC on Versus 4’s main card had TUF alum Matt Mitrione in against Christian Morecraft. As most expected, Mitrione’s kickboxing was the difference and Meathead KOed his opponent in the second round in dominating fashion.

The performance brought Mitrione’s record to 5-0 in the Octagon and was impressive enough for him to likely get a shot at a gate-keeper type fighter who will either put him in his place or vault him into the upper echelon of the UFC Heavyweight division.

I’m sure you’ve figured out where I’m going with this by now.

Kongo vs. Mitrione should be next.

This matchup should be the natural pick for both of these fighters. Obviously the timing would be right for them to meet, they just fought on the same card and will have an equal amount of rest and preparation.

Another reason Joe Silva should put this fight together is that both fighters are strikers, and will likely put on a great show the way Barry and Kongo did. We know they will stand in there and bang, and we will finally find out if Mitrione is the real deal or not.

Dana White has taken just about every precaution he possible can when it comes to Mitrione. White sees the potential for the former TUF alum to become a premiere star in the UFC, but now’s the time to put him to a real test.

It’s time for the UFC to take the spoon out Mitrione’s mouth and finally match him up with a top-tier Heavyweight opponent. Putting him in with Kongo at least gives him a chance to do what he does best and put on a good show for the fans.

But the biggest reason I have for Matt Mitrione fighting Cheick Kongo next is that I think MMA fans would like to see it.

I know I would.

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UFC on Versus 4 Preview: Is Dana White Spoon-Feeding TUF Alum Matt Mitrione?

Over the years we’ve seen a select few UFC fighters spoon-fed competition that wasn’t exactly up to their skill levels.Michael Bisping and Kim Dong-hyun immediately come to mind.Don’t get me wrong, the UFC is head and shoulders above boxing when i…

Over the years we’ve seen a select few UFC fighters spoon-fed competition that wasn’t exactly up to their skill levels.

Michael Bisping and Kim Dong-hyun immediately come to mind.

Don’t get me wrong, the UFC is head and shoulders above boxing when it comes to promoting competitive fights. And when a fighter is helping to grow the sport in another part of the world, it’s in the best interest of all involved that they continue to win.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, UFC fans in different countries get new heroes to cheer for and young future fighters get someone to aspire to.

But there have been a few cases of spoon-feeding in the UFC that has nothing to do with developing the sport globally. Some Ultimate Fighter contestants have had an easy go of it as well.

Diego Sanchez’ first five fights after winning TUF 1 (until Josh Koscheck publicly called him out) immediately comes to mind.

Now it looks like the latest Ultimate Fighter alum to be getting soft opposition just might be Matt Mitrione.

Mitrione will be stepping into the Octagon for the fifth time at UFC On Versus 4 this Saturday night, and once again he’s fighting a sub-par opponent.

This time Joe Silva decided that Christian Morecraft would be a safe match-up for “Meathead” to maintain his unbeaten streak and continue to bring in the football fan demographic into the UFC.

Just to compare. By the time Brock Lesnar got into the Octagon for the fifth time he was defending his title for the second time. Shane Carwin’s fifth fight in the Octagon was for the belt, and by the time Junior dos Santos had his fifth UFC fight he had already fought Cro Cop, Struve, Ivel and Werdum.

Matt Mitrione is fighting a guy who would be 0-2 in the Octagon if he hadn’t punched Sean McCorkle in the groin before slapping on a standing guillotine choke.

So now we have to watch a fight where an up-and-comer is a negative-260 favorite. How does this do anything to elevate Mitrione in the UFC heavyweight rankings?

It doesn’t.

What a Mitrione win does do is get a dozen or so pro football player’s faces in the stands so that the nationally televised cameras can close in on them between fights.

I don’t think it will happen, but I’m cheering for the Morecraft upset in this one, just for principal’s sake.

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MMA Best Bets: Top 5 UFC Fighters with the Best Odds This Summer

UFC fans will be treated to five fight card promotions this summer. Before Labor Day arrives, UFC on Versus 4, UFC 132, UFC 133, UFC on Versus 5 and UFC 134 will all play out.For those of you out there who like to wager on a fighter, whether you’re gri…

UFC fans will be treated to five fight card promotions this summer. Before Labor Day arrives, UFC on Versus 4, UFC 132, UFC 133, UFC on Versus 5 and UFC 134 will all play out.

For those of you out there who like to wager on a fighter, whether you’re grinding a serious bankroll or just trying to win beverages from buddies at the bar during the fights, these are the top five fighters I think have the most betting value this summer.

If you’re not familiar with betting value, this is not a list of the best or worst fighters.

There are lots of fighters in action this summer that have a better chance to win their fights than these guys, but the price on fighters like Anderson Silva require too much of an investment to make a decent return.

This is a list of fighters that are chosen based on the way they’ve been fighting of late and the hype that may be around them against the betting lines that the sports books are offering.

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Strikeforce Grand Prix Results: Can Josh Barnett Beat Alistair Overeem

So the second half of the Strikeforce Grand Prix quarterfinals went pretty much as expected for betting favorites Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett.Both fighters won in convincing fashion and now Barnett will face Sergei Kharitonov in his semi, while t…

So the second half of the Strikeforce Grand Prix quarterfinals went pretty much as expected for betting favorites Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett.

Both fighters won in convincing fashion and now Barnett will face Sergei Kharitonov in his semi, while the Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will be pitted against Antonio Silva.

For the sake of this article I’m going to assume, and yes I know what happens when one assumes, and say that Overeem and Barnett get through their semis and meet in the final. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb with that assumption.

So if they do, how is this going to match up?

Despite the awkward fan-begging/pro-wrestling bit after his second-round submission victory over Brett Rogers, Barnett did what he does to perfection and owned his opponent for the entire fight.

If there was one thing about Barnett’s performance that didn’t look good it was the way he was sucking for air on the stool after the first round. It sort of looked to me that he felt a bit gassed and went out for the submission as fast as possible in the second before he totally tanked.

Overeem fought a unanimous decision. He showed good takedown defense and his cardio looked fine. Like Barnett, he did what he had to do to win his fight.

So when these two meet in the Strikeforce Grand Prix finals will Barnett be able to wrestle the champ to the ground and dominate him there?

Against Werdum the champ was willing to clinch against the cage, and if he does that with Barnett he’s going to find himself on his back with a real big guy on top of him.

If Barnett can get Overeem to the ground, not only is he capable of submitting the champ, but he will also be winning rounds by controlling where the fight is fought.

By the time the betting lines come out on this fight Barnett will most likely be handicapped as the underdog. There could be a big payday for MMA bettors if the sports books underestimate the Baby-Faced Assassin.

It looks to me that a lot of us are forgetting that Barnett has only lost to two fighters in his career, and the last one was almost five years ago.

He believes he’s going to win this tournament, and he just might have the skills to do it.

I just hope they don’t let him have the mic again.

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UFC 131 Results: Can Junior Dos Santos Dethrone the Champ Cain Velasquez

After his dominant performance over Shane Carwin at UFC 131, Junior dos Santos has become the undisputed No. 1 contender and will get his shot at Cain Velasquez’ UFC heavyweight title in late 2011.Before the UFC hype machine gets kicked into high gear …

After his dominant performance over Shane Carwin at UFC 131, Junior dos Santos has become the undisputed No. 1 contender and will get his shot at Cain Velasquez’ UFC heavyweight title in late 2011.

Before the UFC hype machine gets kicked into high gear on this fight and starts to cloud my better judgement, I’m going to take an early stab at how this matchup is going to go down.

Sportsbooks have already posted futures lines on the fight, and to no one’s surprise, it’s been handicapped very closely. The champ Velasquez is a slight minus-130 favorite to retain his title while the Dos Santos upset will pay as much as plus-135.

I can’t argue with those lines, because I also think the fight will close.

I expect these two guys to have immense respect for each others’ skills inside the Octagon. We won’t see either fighter laying it all out on the line—instead, this fight will be a technical battle that should go deep into the championship rounds.

If that proves true, then we need to look at how they’re going to match up stylistically.

Hype would have us believe that Dos Santos holds an edge in the standup category. If he does, I don’t think that it’s much of and edge, especially if he discovers it to be difficult to fight while backing up.

Velasquez is the best in the division at slipping punches and countering with power. Dos Santos will not be given the usual room to operate, and if he’s not very careful, a Velasquez left hook could make it an early night.

If Velasquez can’t counter-punch with success, he still has the option of trying to take down the challenger. That may prove difficult in the first two rounds, but by the third, this fight will likely consist of Velasquez winning rounds with ground-and-pound from outside of Dos Santos’ guard.

Barring a jiu-jitsu surprise from Dos Santos off his back, Velasquez should be able to wear down Cigano enough from the top to earn either a UD or late-round stoppage.

I can see the Dos Santos vs. Velasquez fight looking a lot like Kongo vs. Velasquez, only not so one-sided. Cigano will be better than Kongo was on his back, but the results will be the same in the end.

As long as he steps into the Octagon healthy, the champ is just too well-rounded and tough to lose right now, even by a fighter as skilled as Junior dos Santos.

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